What do you think of book 1 of "Maze Runner"?

Here’s my random opinion.

First of all, I watched all the movies before reading the books.

It was not easy to empathize with the characters; the pacing was a bit off, and the bit about the characters keeping everything secret from Thomas—the joy Chuck felt at Ben’s banishment—even the unusual expressions or terminology Dashner used in the book was a bit jarring. The mystery was good, however, and keeps being a mystery even in the end, and I appreciate it. The movie spoils things a bit, but it diverges from the second half anyway, so no issue here. For example, the very fact that Alby survives the night the doors open and dies only when they must enter the cliff doesn’t happen in the movie. Also, Teresa and Thomas’ mental link is not revealed in the movie.

One more thing: I feel Minho was the most developed character in the book. I liked Newt in the movie, but I stand by Minho in the book.

For the record, movies 2 and 3 diverge radically from the books. Movie 1 was just barely holding as it is.